Vulcan realises the dreams of more than 40 young people in Moatize

As part of the participatory mapping of development opportunities for the benefit of local communities, Vulcan selected and trained more than 45 girls from the eight neighbourhoods of Moatize in a hairdressing course that included notions of entrepreneurship.

This is an initiative that forms part of the actions to create opportunities for the community and aims to empower girls through vocational training so that they can practice a profession, be financially independent and capable of creating work opportunities for other members of the community.

To talk about the selection process until the training was completed, we spoke to Catarina Alcolete, Social Development Analyst, who left us with the following. ‘This training lasted 60 days and was based on a mapping of opportunities carried out locally with the support of the local government, community leaders and civil society organisations.’ ‘At the end of the training, the beneficiaries were given business start-up kits consisting of various equipment and beauty products so that they could start or leverage their own businesses,’ explained Alcolete.

After learning about the selection process, our team spoke to some of the beneficiaries to share their experiences during the training.

Inês Isac, who lives in the 25 de Setembro neighbourhood, said that before taking the course she only braided her hair and now she does more. ‘With the training and the kit I received, I now wash, straighten and flat iron my clients’ hair. These new services have increased my income and I can now pay for my school materials and help with household expenses,’ said Isac.

On the other hand, Ilda Soares, a resident of the 1º de Maio neighbourhood who already had her own salon, listed some of the improvements she achieved after completing the course. ‘I’ve been working on my own for six years now. With this training and the kit I received, I’ve expanded my area of activity. I now do manicures, pedicures, prosthesis gluing and other services that I didn’t know how to do before and didn’t even have the right materials to carry out,’ said a visibly satisfied Soares.

The girls were trained to do jobs such as make-up, braiding, pedicures, manicures, nail application, prosthetics and haircuts.